Yesterday, Refinery29 hosted a Twitter chat with plus-size fashion brand Lane Bryant. From the beginning, the chat seemed designed to court controversy. "Whatever your opinion may be, now's the chance to make your point," said Refinery in an announcement promoting the chat on their website, all but daring users to take a swing at what is arguably the biggest and best known plus-size fashion brand in the world.
In no time, the hashtag #AskLaneBryant was flooded with critiques and tough questions from Twitter users who found fault with everything from the selection and value of Lane Bryant's products to the models in their campaigns and even the people working in their shops:
Some found the outpouring of frustrations constructive, or, at the very least, a step in the right direction. In an interview with Salon.com after the chat, Jessica Andersen and Ashley Simon, co-founders of body positive online community My Body Does, said they were happy with the way people stood up to the brand. "[We] want to see Lane Bryant hire one of these people who is asking them the hard questions, asking why, despite their #PlusIsEqual campaign, they continue to position thinness over fatness in their corporate language."
Others believe Lane Bryant was unfairly scapegoated during the chat. "Okay, so, Lane Bryant's not perfect, but it was trying to serve the size-14-and-up market long before other brands caught on," wrote Becky Bracken on The Stir. "And yet, that doesn't seem to have earned it much goodwill among its shoppers. Despite the store's best efforts, body positivity doesn't come from an ad campaign or marketing team."
Indeed, the root of much of the outrage directed at Lane Bryant seems to be their attempt to position themselves as not just a plus-size fashion brand, but ground-zero for a whole body-positive movement with their #PlusIsEqual campaign and pitting themselves against Victoria's Secret with their #ImNoAngel campaign. "There's nothing wrong with selling clothes to plus size women, or to do so with a body positive spin, but Lane Bryant should not confuse itself with a grassroots movement," wrote Salon's Rachel Kramer Bussel.
Still, you can't really blame a brand for trying to sell clothes, even if they are using the language of activism to do it. At the end of the day, it's up to the consumer to know the difference. As Bracken said "Lane Bryant is just in the clothing biz. It isn't in the biz of bolstering body image or how women view themselves. That's our job."
Get non-boring fashion and beauty news directly in your feed. Follow Facebook.com/CosmoBeauty.
Follow Charles on Twitter.
